Contract Grading: Encouraging Commitment to the Learning Process through Voice in the Evaluation Process

Abstract

Contract grading allows students to make important choices about what, how, and when to learn, thereby facilitating the development of a partnership learning environment in which students are likely to retain more information, make better use of information, and be more highly motivated to learn than in teacher-directed learning environments. This article argues the central role of contract grading in postmodern pedagogy and discusses in depth how to implement contract grading efficiently and effectively. It also addresses a significant benefit of using contract grading: Students learn multiple fundamental management concepts and skills experientially by engaging in the contract grading process.

Choice in the classroom

“…Some parts of the description, e.g., not allowing time bank days to be applied to exams, are in response to actual student queries. 1 The idea is also cited in Gross Davis [2, page 233]. 2 The term "time bank" comes from the 12 February 1996 Dilbert cartoon.…”

“…1 We have done this for six years now, at three different universities. Each student is given a two-day "time bank" for the course, which they may apply to any assignment deadline as needed.…”

“…Another side effect is that, unintentionally, the time bank acts as a buffer for assignments that prove to be exceptionally challenging for students, effectively giving students extra time if necessary. This was not the purpose 1 When using paper submission, we set the initial due dates for assignments no later in the week than Wednesdays, to avoid the weekend even if a student made full use of their time bank. of the time bank, however, and this should probably be regarded as a flaw in the assignment rather than a benefit of the time bank.…”

“…There is literally a contract between the two parties, specifying what work the students must do to complete their assignments. Various advantages are claimed for contract grading - [1] has a good discussion and implementation tips, and [4] describes how contract grading can play out in a computer science environment.…”

“…There are occasional mentions in education literature of a technique called "contract grading" [1,4]. The basic idea is that evaluation is a responsibility shared between the students and the instructor.…”